I don’t believe there will ever be peace on “The Holy Land” as long as the game being played is a zero-sum game; “I cannot win unless you lose”.

Almost every Jews in Israel lives on land that has been stolen in some form or another and they justify it as the fulfillment of God’s promise to the Jews. God has been used as the ultimate justifier in every atrocity that we can think of, from the current Muslim-on-Muslim slaughters Continue reading →

Recently, one of the e-mails to a list that I subscribe to, included a story of the brutal killing of a couple of members of the Ahmediyyah sect, at the hands of fanatical Muslim villagers in Indonesia. It was a disgusting story of brutality and intolerance and even more disgusting was the reaction by those in authority whose jobs it is, to maintain peace and justice in the land.

Rather than seek to punish the perpetrators, the politicians and the judges decided to not antagonize the fanatics and showed extraordinary leniency towards the worst of the perpetrators, a teenager who smashed the skull of one of the victims, with a rock.

This teen was released within months and was greeted as a hero by his villagers…and in silence by the national leadership. It forced me to wonder what example had been set in that area, for the growing children and what example will be seen of Muslims, by the world that does not know the truth of Islam…as obviously, neither did these villagers and perpetrators.

Is the first resort to violence coming from generations of autocratic rule where any dissent is met by violence, where the thugs at the top, have the power to kill anyone with impunity and where Justice has no meaning? Continue reading →

Pakistan. Newsflash that more people have been killed in Karachi, shot in sectarian attacks. Areas of Karachi are “no-go” for Pathans (Pashtuns) and other areas are “no-go” for Urdu-speaking (“Muhajirs”).

The ethnic battles are fired and fuelled by ethnic-political leaders who are in regional government and have employed thugs to create greater rifts between ethnic people in order to be more powerful within their own ethnic groups.

It looks like everything with regard to Israel, turns into an existential issue…”if this is allowed then it will doom Israel/Jews”, Blind Supporters of Israel seem to say. Others, who wish to support Israel and Jews are placed in the difficult situation of seeming to reject Israel (and therefore, Jews) or, underwriting Israel’s high-handedness and atrocities.

For decades, Israel has been asking and then demanding that the world recognize Israel as a legitimate state with most takers from Europe and Americas…a guilt-decision by the very nations that permitted or participated in the Shoah against Jews during WWII.

Now that there is explicit or, implicit recognition by almost every country in the world, Israel has ratcheted its demand up by several notches, it now demands that Israel be recognized as a JEWISH state; a state by Jews, for Jews and of Jews…clearly cleansed of the “Palestinian Problem” or, “the Demographic Bomb” Continue reading →

With great fanfare, Republican House Representative from New York’s 3rd Congressional District, Peter King, who is also the Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, convened a hearing with the title: “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and That Community’s Response.”.

Republican Representative Peter King at the "Hearings"

There are so many ironies in this entire charade that we could all die laughing, if it were not so deathly serious.

Rep. King is the same man who was an ardent and activist supporter of the terrorist Irish Republican Army, so much so, that when he was the Grand Marshall leading a St Patrick’s Day parade in New York, the Irish Republic refused to join the parade, as had been the tradition, citing King’s terrorist sympathies and work for the IRA.

Referring to the civilian killings by the IRA in Northern Ireland, King said at the time, “If civilians are killed in an attack on a military installation, it is certainly regrettable, but I will not morally blame the IRA for it“.

As Egypt struggles against the tyranny of over 50 years…well over 50 years under Mubarak, Sadaat and Nasser…the West (USA) is looking apprehensively.

While the empty slogans of “Freedom”, “Democracy”, “Free Speech” are pattered ad nauseum by all from the President of the United States down to the Republican Guards and echoed by the spineless gallery of the Democrats, nobody in their right minds envision those slogans to apply to the unwashed of the world…they can hardly tolerate them to be applied right HERE, in this great bastion of hypocrisy (er, I mean, Democracy).

Not wishing to be caught speechless, our Secretary of State, madam Hillary Clinton has forced herself to support the idea that democracy should prevail in Egypt…after “an orderly transition”…maybe meaning, another hundred years.

Egypt after all, is hardly like Tunisia; Egypt is the great stronghold against Arabs and Palestinians and a “strong partner in peace with Israel”….oh, yes, Israel! People are having heartburns in Israel and they are forcing their public into believing that if Egypt “falls”, the end of Time for Israel, is at hand…here come the cattle-cars and there fire the ovens!!! Continue reading →

Islamophobia is only a new name for a very old and established commodity for control and power…as old as Time itself…FEAR; it is the oldest method for control and also the most lucrative pursuit in history.

We keep children quiet with fear of the Bogeyman; we keep people under control in religion, because of fear of God’s Wrath and Hell; we rise to political power by invoking fear of economic catastrophe, fear of the “other” and fear of being destroyed…while at the same time presenting ourselves as the best savior, so “Remember to vote for me!”.

Fear brings people to power and Fear keeps people in power; Fear is also the shortest way to fame and fortune….FEAR is what galvanizes the opportunists and Fear is what keeps the best amongst us, silent. Continue reading →

The one highly successful rule being exercised throughout this 16-minute film is: Lie with confidence, lie mightily and with a righteous wrath that will silence all those who do not know better.

It is amazing how like wildfire, a lie can spread when the target is something or someone we want to hate, as much as America and the West seem to want to hate Islam.

Hate, Fear and ignorant minds, are essential ingredients for the exploitation of the “Other/Them” and supremacy of “Us”.

Thus it is today, that so many in the West, have selected Islam and Muslims as their target du jour and are taking constant, extraordinary measures, to create a vicious image of Islam, Muslims and Arabs.

In “Fitna“, Geert Wilders does a superb job of throwing fiction on the screen as the Quran is supposedly recited in the background Continue reading →

I recently received a link to a YouTube video of Rachel Corrie in 5th grade, giving a speech in which she shared her vision to help the world be a better place. I was very impressed because while we all desire world peace in our childhood, it is seldom that we manage to retain the vision and act on it in our adulthood. This remarkable girl spoke with clarity and confidence and with the sincerity of one whose soul speaks out. Continue reading →

About

Blogger Jafar “Jeff” Siddiqui is an American Muslim living in WA.. USA.

He grew up in the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (North-West Frontier) Province and has maintained close contacts in Pakistan.

He is a member of American Muslims of Puget Sound and is a human rights activist. He is involved with movements for inter-faith understanding. He has contributed articles for a textbook on terrorism, used by US law-enforcement agencies. He has also presented discussions and written article, on the Indo-Pakistan hostilities and their impact on Afghanistan.; he writes articles and gives lectures on Civil Rights, American Foreign Policy, on Islam, on current affairs including events in the Middle East, South and Central Asia. His works have been published in various print media. He also gives commentaries on radio and TV on these subjects.

Occasionally, I use the term “Jihad” in my articles, as the action needed to help make changes to better the ills of society. I often get feedback in which people worry more about my use of the word “Jihad”, than they do about the injustice about which I wrote; some wonder why I would use such a charged word among non-Muslims.

I intentionally use “Jihad”, because I want to jolt Muslims AND non-Muslims; “Jihad” cannot and must not become de-legitimized just because some people do not care to understand the true meaning of a sacred term and decide to associate it with terrible things.

“Jihad” springs from the Arabic “Jhd” which means “struggle”; “Jihad” means the act of struggle, “Mujahid” (Plural, Mujahideen) is someone who is doing “Jihad”.

At the core (the highest level), it is the duty of every Muslim to struggle against the basic negative predispositions we all have as humans…greed, envy, jealousy, rage, deceit, theft, murder etc.

At the next level, it is the duty of every Muslim to fight against the ills that beset Mankind…hunger, disease, homelessness, illiteracy, injustice, lack of water, pollution etc.,

At the least important level, Muslims are required to fight those who attack us AFTER we have exhausted all other efforts towards peaceful resolution. Even then, if peace is at hand, even at mid-battle, one has to stop and accept terms that are just and preserve the dignity of all parties.

I would imagine these are things that every person needs to subscribe to, not just Muslims.

Yet, there is a growing body of opinion in the non-Muslim West, that “Jihad” can ONLY be equated with murder and mayhem and thus, anyone using the word, can be presumed to be associated with supporting murder and mayhem.

I would suggest that supporters of the body of opinion that would like to taint “Jihad”, are people who consider themselves at “War!” with Islam, Muslims and Arabs. They may be a growing number of people, but they are wrong and it would be wrong for Muslims to lend credence to this opinion by shying away from “Jihad” in word, or in action.

Not so long ago, the Jewish organization ADL, launched an attack on some Muslim groups because the Muslims were wearing the Muslim Affirmation… “Shehada” (“There is no God but one God, and Mohammed is His prophet”) on their headbands and the ADL said that the Shehada stood for terrorism.

There are a growing number of bigots who state that Islam’s holy book, the Quran, is a symbol of evil and violence.

What should Muslims do? Abandon the Shehada and the Quran?

Some may say that we should just not use the Shehada on headbands, why not? Either the Affirmation (Shahada) is sacred or it is not; if it is sacred, then wherever it is used, as long as the use is not profane, is also sacred. If the Shehada is used in a profane manner, then the reflection is not upon the Shehada, but on the abuser.

Hitler took the Swastika as his symbol and today, it strikes fear and revulsion in the hearts of many, especially Jews. However, the Swastika is thousands of years old and among Hindus, the “Savas Tika” (“Peace sign”) is a holy symbol, it is used to adorn temples and used by Hindus at almost every occasion…it can be clockwise or counter-clockwise.

Should the Hindus be asked to abandon the Savas tika as a symbol?

If we dared to make such an absurd demand, we would be laughed off the stage.

The Star of David strikes fear and revulsion among millions of Palestinian men, women and children; should the Jews be asked to abandon the Star of David as their symbol?

I am betting millions of Bosnian Muslims shudder a little when they see a Crucifix, or the Christian Orthodox cross, because of the genocide of Bosnian Muslims by the Serbs and the Croats in the name of Christianity in the 1990s; should those symbols be cast aside?

The principle of “use it or lose it” is quite valid here. If we retreat for any reason, we are acknowledging that our sacred and holy terms or symbols are sometimes themselves, evil. Once we give that ground, then we can no longer use our Savas Tikas, our Crucifixes or our terms…THEN, the bad guys have truly won.

I believe that as reasoned and rational people, we cannot allow ourselves to fall victim to populist bigotries. We must look at what the symbol actually stands for, rather than associate it with the negative events that were tied to it by evil people; we must be able to differentiate between Nazi Swastikas on one hand, and symbols and words that are sacred, on the other.

Jihad; it is a sacred duty for every Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu…for every human being of good will.